Monday, June 29, 2015

“Now in this section the emphasis is upon the rest which is
ours if we trust Christ. Scripture presents a fivefold rest: (1) creation rest,
(2) entrance into Canaan, (3) the rest of salvation -Mt. 11:29 (4) the rest of
consecration- Mt. 11:29-30, and (5) heaven. Here the writer is talking about the rest of
full trusting God, not only for salvation but also for daily living.” – J.
Vernon McGee

Sunday, June 28, 2015

We are not the first to find ourselves at odds with government
policies, government pronouncements, governmental edits. What should we do?
Hide? Hibernate? Capitulate? Stick our heads in the sand? No- we do our job. We
do our duty. We do right.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

At the end of the day on June 30 this year there will be a leap second. That is, we will insert an additional second into our time reckoning. If you don't update your clocks at that time, your clocks will be one second fast. OK, this won't matter to most people, but there is a fascinating connection to creation in this story.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Coffee is not like alcoholic beverages; alcohol is not a natural product; it is caused by decay. Coffee on the other hand is a natural product of nature, and I have no reason to suppose that for people to use it for enjoyment and as an aid to digestion is wrong. It never leads to crime. I do not think it ever leads to accidents. it is not a stimulant to sin such as alcohol is. Nor is coffee, when used in moderation, hurtful to the body as tobacco is, sometimes causing cancer. The same is true about soft drinks. Perhaps some people who are trying to reduce ought not to drink them because they contain sugar, but otherwise I know of no harmful effects. - John R. Rice

"How much responsibility do married children have in taking care of parents?" There is still the solemn obligation: "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the lord thy God giveth thee" (Exod. 20:12). I think the proper love would lead one to put up with a good many domineering ways, hard work, and inconvenience to care for parents, especially if they were practically bedfast, or even if they were well. Why cannot a daughter still love her mother, and laugh things off, and go ahead and do right? Oftentimes our prayers should be for grace to meet the problems God has given us instead of to get rid of the problems. Remember that "the trial of your faith worketh patience." Any circumstance would be better than disobeying God. - John R. Rice

One more thing is necessary to overcome this fault of temper and its results. When it causes you to speak sharply to someone or mistreat someone, you must apologize to them. There is nothing that will do so much to overcome a fault as honest confession. That old carnal nature of yours will certainly get tired of having to "shell down the corn" and admit the sin of an ugly temper and unkind words and mistreatment of friends. So learn to say at once, "I am sorry! I should not have said that." - John R. Rice

The word "church" in the Bible simply means "a called out assembly." The Greek word ekklesia, properly translated "church" in the New Testament, once refers to the nation Israel assembled at mount Sinai (Acts 7:38). It is twice translated assembly (Acts 19:39-41), referring to an unsaved mob. Notice that is the only time the word ekklesia is ever translated anything but church. It is used once clearly of all the redeemed who will be assembled in Heaven (Hebrews 12:23). Many other places the word "church" refers to this whole group, including all the saved. The more frequent use refers to a local congregation or a local church like "the church at Rome," "the churches of Galatia," "the seven churches of Asia," or "the church of God at Corinth." The word "church" in the Bible never refers to a group of churches, a denomination. It could not possibly refer to all the Baptists, leaving out Methodists or others; nor to Catholics, leaving out Protestants. It is proper to use the word "church" only about a local congregation or about all the saved who will be assembled together in Heaven. - John R. Rice

All the born-again ones are members of the body and bride of Christ, His church, and we must not try to seize for our own particular denomination that which refers to all the saints of God. - John R. Rice

However, while the word "church" in the Bible usually means a local congregation, it certainly sometimes refers to all the saved who will be caught up to meet Christ when He comes. Hebrews 12:23 speaks of "the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven." Colossians 1:18 says that He, Christ, "is the head of the body, the church." That means all the saved. So we should have fellowship with all born-again Christians who are sound in the faith. - John R. Rice

Concerning instrumental music, the New Testament has no command one way or the other. However, the Old Testament many, many times mentions praising the Lord with instruments, and we have the same God in the New Testament that they had in the Old. Praise is as acceptable to Him now as it was then. The Lord does not discuss whether church houses should have benches or not, whether we should have electric lights or candles in the church houses, or whether we should have a piano or a tuning fork, or neither. When the Bible does not make an issue of something, then Christian people are very foolish to make an issue of it. - John R. Rice

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

No one likes to be criticized -- or lied about! It is discouraging when we are misinterpreted! It can be depressing when we are disliked without a reason!

ESPECIALLY when it is about the good we try to do --

Notice Jesus' pointed instructions and promise ---

"Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you ... and shall reproach you ... for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold,your reward is great in heaven ..." Luke 6:22, 23

THE INSTRUCTION: What are we to do when this criticism and mistreatment comes? Jesus said to "rejoice – and leap for joy". Most of us do not often "leap"; however, there are positive ways in which our joy can be expressed.

Someone else's bad attitude should never get you down! You will just have to let them "enjoy" their misery while you "Enjoy" your walk with The Lord.

NOW, THE PROMISE: Our Lord tells us that we will have a great reward in Heaven just because someone hated us and reproached us. We do not have to work for that reward – it is already in Heaven waiting for us!!

Those who are persecuted will have great reward. For that reason the Lord tells us to rejoice and leap for joy. Like most steps of growth in our Christian life, a CHOICE is required. This choice affects our behavior and our attitude.

For a little humor, allow me to quote a friend of mine who is now with his Lord in Heaven - Evangelist B R Lakin. He would often say:

"There are three things that you need to do to ensure that you will never be criticized - – Don't ever have anything – Don't ever know anything – Don't ever do anything"

Let's dedicate ourselves to "have" what we have – "know" what we know – and "do" what we do for HIS glory!!

Each of us have a great week before us! Let's be blessed and lay up treasure.

“Now in this section the emphasis is upon the rest which is
ours if we trust Christ. Scripture presents a fivefold rest: (1) creation rest,
(2) entrance into Canaan, (3) the rest of salvation,* (4) the rest of
consecration,** and (5) heaven. Here the writer is talking about the rest of
full trusting God, not only for salvation but also for daily living.” – J.
Vernon McGee

Friday, June 19, 2015

The reason that men do not believe is either that they are not living up to what they believe, that they have not surrendered their wills to God, or that they do not study the evidence that is calculated to produce belief. Men neglect their Bibles and read all kinds of trashy unbelieving books, and then say, "I can't believe!" A man might just as well feed himself on poison instead of food and then complain that he is not healthy. There is abundant evidence that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and faith is a matter of the will--it is willingness to yield to the sufficient evidence. Unbelief is the refusal to yield to the sufficient evidence. Thus unbelief is a matter for which every believer is responsible. - John R. Rice

I constantly use the King James Version. Practically all of my memory work is done in it. Because of its beautiful stately language and because it is loved by common people everywhere, I find it best to preach and quote from this version, unless some passage is more clear in another version. The American Standard Version, translated in 1901, is perhaps the most accurate of all versions. It does not take the place of the King James Version, but in many places it has genuine help. Of course there are some mistakes, but many of the scholars who prepared it were devout Christians and believers. It takes advantage of the three great manuscripts--the Sinaiticus, the Vatican, and the Alexandrian manuscripts--which were not available when the King James Version was translated. However, they do not make many great changes. - John R. Rice

I think that to do right and to obey God and to put down crime is not a sign of lack of Christian love. It is not wrong for a parent to whip a child who needs it. It is not wrong for an officer to arrest a criminal. It is not wrong for a government to put to death a murderer. These things should be settled by the plain Word of God instead of by an emotional appeal to prejudice. So warfare may be necessary and right to put down an international criminal like Hitler, or to save a nation from enslavement. - John R. Rice

Exodus 20:13 says, "Thou shalt not kill," clearly meaning that no individual has the right to take killing into his own hands, for a personal grudge. But the same passage of Scripture continues, and in the following chapter, verse 12, the Lord says, "He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall surely be put to death." God plainly commands the death penalty in the next chapter after He gave the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." See Exodus 21:15-17. So it is quite clear that God put the death penalty in the hands of organized society. And the New Testament teaches exactly the same thing. Romans 13:4 tells us that the ruler "is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid: for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath on him that doeth evil." - John R. RiceThe Bible makes no issue on the question of lipstick and other make-up, and so I make none. I prefer that women should be very restrained in any use of make-up. If lipstick and rouge are used heavily, they make a woman look worldly and artificial and take away from natural beauty. But I believe that overuse of rouge and lipstick is primarily a sin against good taste, not against morals. It is artificiality and indicates too much desire to keep up with the fads of fashion. A Christian must be very careful not to judge others and not to make artificial rules which the Bible does not make. If one says that the use of all cosmetics is wrong, then face cream or powder is wrong just the same as lipstick. A Christian had better just be modest and spiritual and keep a good conscience, without making rules for others unless he can prove his point by the Bible. - John R. RiceChristian men might heed this matter of dress carefully, too. I do not believe it wise for men to go naked to the waist in a mixed crowd, whether in swimming trunks or at work. Little children ought not to be put in sun suits that unduly expose them and get them accustomed to a shameless lack of modesty and indifference to nakedness. Every Christian ought to remember that his body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that it ought to be reverently and sacredly kept. The Christian woman should keep her body for her husband. The Christian husband should keep his body for his wife. And all of us should keep our bodies as the temples of the Holy Ghost with a consciousness of our weakness but with a desire to please God. - John R. Rice

Tobacco definitely hurts the health of many people. It hurried one of my brothers to a grave earlier than he otherwise would have died, the doctors thought. Certainly it affects the throat, sometimes to lead to cancer of mouth and throat or lips and tends to affect the lungs. Christian's particularly ought not to use tobacco because it defiles the body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. God dwells in the Christian's body; and he ought to put away all filthiness and foulness of the flesh. the fact that a tobacco user stinks ought to make nice people know that it would be offensive to the Holy Spirit as it is to many good people. - John R. Rice

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When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psalm 8:3-4